Surveillance camera systems are widely used for safety, security and information gathering. For example, surveillance camera systems may be installed in and around a very wide variety of residential or commercial buildings, medical facilities, parking structures, larger sports facilities, casinos and the like, to provide personal safety, security of the grounds and/or to gather information related to potentially hazardous or illegal activity. The cameras are normally used to generate a video image of an area under surveillance for use by security personnel, either for “live” action viewing, or for later review of recorded data. In some cases, cameras are mounted to a wall or to a ceiling structure where they may be observed by people within the area under surveillance. In other cases, the cameras are hidden from view by being placed behind one-way mirror domes to avoid creating an objectionable presence to an honest person or make it difficult, to impossible, for potential wrongdoers to locate and see where the cameras are being directed.
Since surveillance cameras were first introduced, camera users have sought to mount their cameras in various locations and positions. The key to effective use of a security camera is to ensure that it is directed at the area to be observed. Prior art security cameras were typically mounted within a static bracket fixed in a single position. In other later cases, the camera mount became adjustable, but on only one axis. Because of the manner in which the camera modules in prior art security cameras have most often been mounted, there are severe limitations in the degree to which they may be tilted, which limits the potential range of coverage a security camera may have. Prior art devices suffer from the inability to adjust about two axes. Therefore, the cameras must be remounted or mounted in a different location should the area to be surveyed change or the line of sight becomes obscured. The present invention seeks to alleviate the aforementioned issues by providing a camera gimbal. A camera gimbal, or pivotal support, is generally smaller and lighter than typical camera mounts. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, the camera gimbal is adjustable in at least two axes and also rotationally adjustable about the axis of the camera.
With the advent of a camera gimbal that allows for adjustment of the camera about more than one axis, the next step is to determine the proper location to place, i.e. mount, the video surveillance camera. The idea of drilling holes through the walls of a home or office to run video and power cables for a security camera system could seem difficult and daunting. In order to find the right location to install a surveillance camera for a home or office, several factors are considered in order to provide the most advantageous location for installation. A good location is where the roof meets the walls of the housing or office structure because it shelters the camera from the elements, such as wind, rain, snow and sun. Additionally, placing the cameras near the roof provides a good viewing area with minimal risk of vandalism. Another advantage is, when running cables (power & video), the task becomes easier as many homes or office structures have a small gap or hole between the roof and the wall where cables can be routed.
When selecting the cable for video, RCA, BNC coaxial cable, or Category 5 twisted pair cables can be used. BNC cables generally have lower losses than RCA, are more rugged, and are most commonly constructed using coaxial cable, such as the one which runs in your home to connect with the cable company. This type of cable is referred to as RG-59. The BNC connectors are usually molded onto the cable end. BNC cable is used for analog cameras or one of the many HD-over analog technologies, such as TVI, CVI or HD-SDI. BNC cable is typically used by lower quality non-digital solutions. Although RG-59 cable is effective, it is relatively heavy, may be awkward to install, and requires special tools. With the advent of video baluns (a small lipstick size device) you can now run video and power over a Category 5 cable. The Category 5 cable, also known as Cat5, carries four pairs of wires which allows for more runs on a single cable, is much lighter and thus easier to work with. While distances beyond 500 feet become a video signal problem for BNC, Cat5 can comfortably extend out to 1,000 feet. Therefore, Cat5 is far preferable to BNC. Internet Protocol (IP) cameras typically use Cat5 cable, and can shoot in HD up to 5MP (2.5×1080P), thus whenever possible it is preferable to run a system with Cat5. However, for surveillance camera cabling, it is usually seen as advantageous to use the industry standard, which is typically the BNC cable. However, with increased use of HD, it would be more advantageous to have the flexibility to convert from a BNC to a Cat5 cable. The present invention seeks to alleviate this problem by providing a circuit board that allows for the connection of either a BNC or Cat5 cable on the same circuit board.
The next step in installing video surveillance is to find a point of entrance from the outside to the inside of the structure. Most structures have an attic or crawl space which is a convenient place to run cable lines through. Within the attic, one can designate a specific location for the DVR and monitor to be stationed and bring all the cable lines to that designated room from the attic. As for the power, two choices are available: one can run each power line separately into an outlet (using pig tails) and an AC Adapter, or one can get a power supply box, plug all power lines into the power supply, and from the power supply only one power line is needed into the outlet. Lastly, once the video and power lines are connected, all that remains is to power the DVR and attach a Monitor thereto.
Surveillance camera systems of the types just described have had numerous problems and limitations associated with their use. Maintenance of cameras in domes or other enclosures is difficult and time consuming as the camera mount mechanism commonly used is firmly secured within the dome containing the associated control electronics. Replacing circuit boards or cables becomes very difficult as the entire dome structure must be removed from the structure or the base, and then the camera mount mechanism must be removed from the dome base in order to make the necessary maintenance changes. Typically, the removal from either the structure or the dome base requires removal of screws and then physical removal of the camera mount which may result in damage to the camera mount before attempting to make the necessary maintenance changes.
Prior art surveillance camera systems have been complex electromechanical structures with the following disadvantages: these structures have been expensive, difficult to install, and difficult to maintain. When servicing was required, it would usually require removal of the entire structure, which was not always an easy, time-effective procedure.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,534,057 discloses a surveillance camera gimbal mechanism which utilizes a rotationally adjustable disk and support arrangement to afford smoothly adjustable, fastener-free, and stable diagonal adjustment that also provides axial compliance. The diagonal adjustment mechanism is integrated with a pan and tilt gimbal mechanism to allow smooth and stable single-point manual fixation of pan and tilt positions without creating depressions in the mating parts which make readjustment difficult.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a cost-effective surveillance camera system which is easy to install, adaptive to various connection cables, and easy to maintain by providing a gimbal that is separable from the base.